REEFER POWER • GENERATOR FUEL • SHORE ELECTRICITY • PEAK CAPACITY • COST / REEFER-DAY
Reefer Container Power & Fuel Cost Calculator
Estimate reefer electrical demand, voyage energy, auxiliary-generator fuel use, shore-power cost, emissions and cost per reefer-day. Advanced mode separates chilled, frozen and special-cargo reefers, adds ambient-load weighting, energy-management savings, diversified peak demand and the vessel's available reefer-power margin.
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Need mixed reefer types, ambient factors, peak-capacity margin or carbon cost? Click Advanced above.Simple uses one average reefer population and immediately converts it into source MWh, generator fuel, shore power and blended reefer-power cost.DemandAverage kW & MWh
FuelGenerator MT & cost
Unit cost$/reefer-day
Reefer Load
Use monitored running demand when available. Nameplate or maximum input power will usually overstate average voyage energy.
Powered units in the analyzed population.
kW/unit while the refrigeration machinery is running.
Percent of time the entered running load is active.
Voyage or operating period in days.
Source energy is increased to cover entered losses.
Generator & Shore Power
The generator share is supplied onboard; the balance is treated as shore electricity.
% of source energy.
g/kWh.
$/MT.
$/kWh.
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Advanced separates cargo classes and checks diversified peak load against available reefer electrical capacity.Average energy and peak power are intentionally modeled separately. Energy-management savings reduce average MWh, while peak-capacity screening remains tied to connected load and the entered simultaneous-load factor.Reefer Fleet Mix
Ambient/load factor scales each group's average and peak electrical demand. Replace sample values with vessel, terminal or reefer-monitoring data.
| Use | Cargo group | Units | Running kW | Duty % | Ambient factor % | Connected kW | Load MWh |
|---|
Operating Period & Electrical Losses
days.
%.
Average-energy reduction only; does not reduce peak screen.
% of ambient-adjusted connected load.
Generator & Shore Power
% of source energy.
g/kWh.
$/MT.
$/MWh generated.
$/kWh.
$/shore-powered reefer-day.
Reefer Power Capacity
kW available to reefer distribution.
Desired headroom above diversified peak.
$ per analyzed period.
Emissions & Carbon Cost
tCO₂/MT fuel.
kgCO₂/kWh.
$/tCO₂.
% of modeled CO₂ exposed to entered carbon cost.
Model approach: reefer load energy is derived from unit count × running kW × duty cycle × ambient/load factor × powered hours × analysis days. Source energy is increased for electrical-distribution losses and split between onboard generation and shore power. Generator fuel is derived from onboard kWh × SFOC. Advanced mode applies energy-management savings to average energy only and compares ambient-adjusted diversified peak demand with the entered available reefer-power capacity and reserve target.
Planning boundary: actual reefer power varies with cargo setpoint, ambient temperature, humidity, insulation, machinery condition, compressor cycling, defrost, ventilation, controlled-atmosphere equipment, door-open history, precooling, plug interruptions, route and terminal conditions. Use OEM, vessel or monitoring data where available. This calculator does not assess cargo-temperature risk, plug compatibility, electrical protection coordination or vessel stability.
Planning boundary: actual reefer power varies with cargo setpoint, ambient temperature, humidity, insulation, machinery condition, compressor cycling, defrost, ventilation, controlled-atmosphere equipment, door-open history, precooling, plug interruptions, route and terminal conditions. Use OEM, vessel or monitoring data where available. This calculator does not assess cargo-temperature risk, plug compatibility, electrical protection coordination or vessel stability.